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Re: Adverb Placement

But the adverb can't come after the verb if there is a direct object, correct?

"He lost unfortunately the game."

But if there isn't a preposition, it would be okay, like:

"He lost unfortunately after the game."

Right?

That sounds close. The adverb cannot come between the main verb and the direct object.
In a transitive sentence, you can put an adverb:
i. between the auxillary and main verbs.
ii. after the direct object.
iii before the main verb if no auxillary.

1. He has not yet reached his goal. Yes (between auxillary and main verb)
2. He has not reached yet his goal. No (between main verb and direct object)
2b He has not reached his goal yet. Yes. (after the direct object)
("Yet" is not a typical adverb though as far as position goes).

3. He caught brilliantly the ball in the outfield. No (between main verb and direct object)
4. He brilliantly caught the ball in the outfield. Yes.
4b. He caught the ball brilliantly in the outfield. Yes. (after the direct object) Best, IMO.

5. She politely said no. Best
6. She said politely no. No
7. She said no politely. OK.

You can put the adverb straight after the verb in a intransitive sentence.
8. He quickly died after being shot. Yes
9. He died quickly after being shot. Yes

Re: Adverb Placement

1) He speaks English well. (only ? “well” can never precede a verb? )This one always goes after the verb.

2) a) He only speaks English.b) He speaks English only. (is there a difference in meaning?)Both are used and mean the same thing.

3) a) The price of computers has gone down significantly.b) The price of computers has significantly gone down. Both are used and mean the same thing.

4) a) Slowly she drew the curtains. (possible ?)b) She slowly drew the curtains.c) She drew the curtains slowly.A good example of how an adverb can often be used in several different places in a sentence. (All three sentences mean the same thing, but it is possible that there are slight differences in meaning depending on context.)

Re: Adverb Placement

2) a) He only speaks English.
b) He speaks English only. (is there a difference in meaning?)
Both are used and mean the same thing.

In writing, maybe. But if you put contrastive stress on speaks, then a means 'He speaks English, but can't write it.' Then b, with the sentence stress on 'only', means 'He speaks English, but not [for example] French'.

In summary, when 'only' immediately precedes the verb, and there is contrastive stress on the verb, the 'only' applies to the verb and not to the verb's object.

[Some teachers don't care about the stress and insist that 'only + <verb>' always has the verb-specific meaning. But this flies in the face of everyday usage, which - in the absence of contrastive stress - is as Ron said.]

Re: Adverb Placement

Originally Posted by hela

Hello Bob,

Could we also say: "HE ONLY speaks English" = only him and nobody else ?
And the stress would be on "he" ?

See you

Not really. I was over-simplifying a bit in my last post, about the 'rule' insisted on by some teachers. They would say that, given the sentence 'He speaks English', there are three possible positions for 'only', each of which carries a different meaning (with a possible fourth positio right at the end:

Only he speaks English -> He's the only one who does
He only speaks English -> ... but he can't write it
He speaks only English /->
He speaks English only /...... and not French or some other language.

(In each case - except the last - 'only' immediately precedes the word with contrastive stress.)

But although this would be quite a neat rule if it were true, I don't think it reflects linguistic reality. In reality people can use these word orders, but often they use some sort of periphrasis, such as 'He is the only one who speaks English' (to equate to the first order) or 'All he can do is speak English' (second), or 'The only language he speaks is English (third and fourth).

Unless you're confident about your use of contrastive stress, it's safer (and perfectly colloquial) to use this sort of periphrasis.

Re: Adverb Placement

Originally Posted by BobK

In writing, maybe. But if you put contrastive stress on speaks, then a means 'He speaks English, but can't write it.' Then b, with the sentence stress on 'only', means 'He speaks English, but not [for example] French'.

In summary, when 'only' immediately precedes the verb, and there is contrastive stress on the verb, the 'only' applies to the verb and not to the verb's object.

[Some teachers don't care about the stress and insist that 'only + <verb>' always has the verb-specific meaning. But this flies in the face of everyday usage, which - in the absence of contrastive stress - is as Ron said.]